


Until She Wakes

by ShamanicShaymin



Category: Twisted Princess (Disney Fanart)
Genre: Body Horror, Creepy, Dark, Dark Fairytale, Dreams, Fairy Tales, Gen, Horror, Inspired by Fanart, Misses Clause Challenge, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-20
Updated: 2012-12-20
Packaged: 2017-11-21 15:51:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/599504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShamanicShaymin/pseuds/ShamanicShaymin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Briar Rose does not understand why she keeps having the same nightmares.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Until She Wakes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Etnoe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Etnoe/gifts).



> This is written for Sout as part of Yuletide 2012. I hope this is what you've wanted! I've always been fascinated by jeftoon01/Jeffrey Thomas's "Twisted Princess" series, and the Sleeping Beauty picture is one of my favorites. :)

Shadows appeared before Briar Rose, thin as a knife’s edge and untouchable as air. All she had on her person was a lantern lit by three colored lights. The lights banged at their glass walls, trying to warn her of something. The shadows lunged at her face, seeping into her eyes before she had a chance to react. She howled and clamped her hands over her eyes, but it was too late. Her cheeks smeared with wet tears and a mucky substance she was too frightened to think about. Cruel cackling assaulted her ears as the shadows continued to torment her.

“Rose!”  
“Rose!”  
“Rose, wake up!”

Aunt Flora, Aunt Fauna, and Aunt Merryweather had hurried to her room in their nightcaps, their eyes wide with fear. They shook Rose gently until she stirred from her sleep. Once she was broken from the nightmare, she dived into the arms of her concerned aunts. Aunt Flora patted her back as she sobbed, while Aunt Fauna and Aunt Merryweather kept close.

"There there, my dear. It was only a dream.” Aunt Flora consoled her.  
"Only a dream? It sure doesn’t feel that way to her!" Aunt Merryweather protested, but was in no mood to argue when their adoptive daughter needed them.  
"You're safe and sound now." Aunt Fauna assured, running her fingers through the girl’s hair. "Would you like some warm milk? It'll help calm you and get you back to sleep."

Rose sniffled and nodded and followed her aunts downstairs.

* * *

Briar Rose’s strange nightmares returned every few years. Aside from them, she lived a carefree life. By her fifteenth year, she was an intelligent and sweet young girl. She was worthy of the beauty and song that had blossomed with her over time. Her hair was as golden as sunshine and her lips as red and soft as the petals of a rose. Her song enchanted like a nightingale’s, and she touched the ground with the grace of a doe.

Aunt Flora, Aunt Fauna and Aunt Merryweather were always there for her. They taught her everything she needed to know about kindness, knowledge and the value of everyday things. But they were also strict; she was forbidden to leave the forest, let alone talk to anyone who wandered by. Her aunts warned her of evil outside the woods, namely of the cruel fairy Maleficent and her dark magic. When Rose tried to ask for specifics, such as what this dark fairy wanted, the aunts hurriedly changed the subject. Her aunts were close friends with the king and queen, and often stopped to visit them. Briar Rose had begged to go with them, but she wasn’t permitted.

“The king and queen must be wonderful people! Who are they like?” Rose asked.  
“King Stefan is indeed a noble ruler,” Aunt Flora explained. “He cares deeply for his people, as well as his wife, the queen. Queen Leah herself is as tender-hearted as she is beautiful.”  
“They’re both very lonely, so it’s important that we keep them company.” Aunt Fauna sighed, looking sadly at cloak she was sewing. “There isn’t much we could do, but even a little help means everything.”  
“What happened to them?” Rose asked. “Why are they so sad?”  
“They’ve always wanted a child.” Aunt Fauna explained. “They’ve been alone for years, so when they finally had a little princess, it was a cause for great celebration.”  
“But then Maleficent came and ruined everything.” Aunt Merryweather grumbled.  
“Now girls, we all know the rules regarding Maleficent!” Aunt Flora said, cautiously looking between the women. She cleared her throat. “But it is true. Maleficent placed a curse on the child. One day, the baby was nowhere to be found. Since then, the kingdom has fallen into grief over the missing princess. Until the day she is found, there is nothing to be done.”  
“That’s terrible!” Rose cried. “Does anybody know where she could be?”  
“Nobody knows.” Aunt Fauna answered.  
“And neither does Maleficent.” Aunt Merryweather frowned. “She’s been haunting the kingdom for years looking for her. If I had my way, I’d… oh, I don’t know. But I’d teach her a lesson!”  
“I hope she’s found soon.” Rose hoped. “Then everything will be all right again.”  
“I’m sure she will. Someday.” Aunt Fauna nodded.  
“Yes…” Aunt Flora agreed, sharing a smile with Aunt Merryweather. “Someday.”

* * *

An owl was pushed out of a tree by a pair of squirrels, and songbirds twittered around his fuzzy pine-cone fluff to wake him up. He perked up the second his sleepy eyes laid upon Briar Rose, and his beak broadened into a smile as she coaxed him down with an uplifting melody. She offered berries, nuts and seeds for all of her animal friends, then invited them down by the pool.

"Did I tell you about my dream last night?" Briar Rose asked, stirring her foot in the water. The animals watched her with rapt attention, but none more so than the owl. Briar Rose had mourned many a lost friend, but the owl had known her since she had first wandered away from the cottage. Many of the creatures either hibernated or went south for the winter, but the owl stayed to keep her company. He listened to the worst of Briar Rose's nightmares, and served as her guardian night and day.

It was like she had led a different life in her dreams, she explained. Each night, she would be back in the forest, and she’d discover places that could never exist in her waking life. She had yet to find a meadow in real life, but there it was in her dreams, where she spotted a deer and her fawn visiting a family of rabbits. She once met a girl who made friends with the animals as easily as she did; her skin was white as snow and her hair black was as ebony, and her voice was as sweet as a bell. Although Briar Rose could not remember their conversation, they had exchanged several notes and filled the forest with their duet. Her favorite dreams were the ones where she met a handsome prince; always tall, always charming. The owl cocked his head, trying to envision such a lovely man. He beamed and ruffled his feathers as Rose described being drawn into the prince’s arms and then… she was back in bed, wishing she was still asleep. The owl sunk in disappointment, saddened that his friend’s joy had been dashed by the dawn.

“Yes, it's only in my dreams,” Rose explained. “But they say if you dream something more than once, it's sure to come true, and I've seen him so many times.”

What bothered Rose was that she could say the same about her nightmares. She frowned in thought, then turned to the owl.

“Promise me that if I fall asleep… and I never wake up… that you will look for me in my dreams and keep me company.”

The owl hooted with a nod.

* * *

Princess Aurora, once but no longer Briar Rose, lowered her head on the vanity and wept alone. This was supposed to be a dream come true… anyone else in her place would be excited to learn that they were royalty. She would see her mother and father’s faces for the first time, and be betrothed to the prince of the neighboring kingdom. What unfortunate timing! She had finally met the man whom she visited in her dreams, but she could never marry him. What duties entailed by being a princess? Would she be allowed to return to the woods ever again? Her animal friends were likely to be afraid of anyone who accompanied her, and she was certain that princesses weren’t permitted to travel alone. Her aunts—the three good fairies—were leaving her behind. What if she never got to see them again? She looked at the fireplace and spotted a single green flame.

* * *

Rising from the ground, Princess Aurora—back in her original gray dress and bare feet—realized that she was back in the forest. She couldn't remember what happened to her after the three good fairies left her alone in the king and queen’s castle. But even in her dream, she was dizzy with fatigue. She patted at her skirt, when she spotted specks of scarlet appearing on the cloth. Puzzled, she held out her hand. A chill crept down her back at the sight, for the tip of her finger welled with blood.

"So, your name is Briar Rose. Or shall I say Princess Aurora?"

Aurora gasped, startled by the menacing figure standing before her. She wore a jagged dark cloak as intimidating as dragon wings, and the thick horns crowning her head were as sharp as the devil's. A pallid, poisonous green coated her skin, and her long fingers held a staff as golden and intimidating as her eyes.

"What's the matter, dear? Am I not invited to your sixteenth birthday? There's no need for explanation. No one had intended me to attend your first."

Aurora stared at the wicked fairy, her heart heavy with shock and dread. Her eyes narrowed with a new-found anger, and she was determined not to be overpowered.

"Speechless, aren't we?" Maleficent smirked. "For one of grace and beauty, I suppose it's too late to receive the gift of words."

"...You're the one behind the curse." she said. “You're the one behind the pain my kingdom had to endure, just to look for me! Aunt Flora, and Fauna and Merryweather, and my mother and father... everybody sacrificed so much to keep me safe. I may be dreaming, but I won't let you frighten me ever again! You’ll leave this place and never come back!"

"Is that so? Well then... Before I go, would you kindly demonstrate your sewing skills? The lack of spinning wheels in the kingdom must have left... quite a mess." Maleficent raised her staff. "Enchanted sleep was the gift to be, a dream within a dream will be all you see!”

Aurora’s eyes widened as a needle and thread materialized in her hands, black as ooze and thin as a knife’s edge. The hypnotism wasn’t as strong as it was before, which meant the princess knew exactly what was happening to her. Aurora resisted as long as possible, and her fingers twitched as she tried keeping them from moving on their own. The needle neared the princess's eyelids, and her breath felt like ice cracking her lungs. She screamed as the needle pierced sensitive flesh, and the triumphant laughter of Maleficent followed.

* * *

Long ago, Merryweather countered Maleficent's curse with a sleeping spell. But she didn't know that there would be side-effects. Yes, it was decreed that Princess Aurora would not die when she touched the spindle. As long as she slept, she would be at risk of falling into a dream, a nightmare. Suffering at all levels of her consciousness.

Sleeping Beauty stumbled in the mist, fresh scars marking her skin. Her skirt was torn and her hair became wild. Her once crimson lips turned black as pitch, matching the blood that had dried over her blind stitched eyes. Her feet were slathered in dirt, blood and cuts, and the finger that had touched the spindle never healed. She stepped on air and hurtled toward the ground. She cringed in the mud, sore and tired. Dirty tears leaked down her face as she considered giving up, when she heard the sound of beating wings.

The owl descended over her body, calling her to get up. With his encouragement, she made it on her knees. He rolled a bandage around one of her arms, dressing her wounds. His cloak beat against her side, and she recognized it by touch; it belonged to the man she met once upon a dream. When she got on her feet, the owl attached something to her waist. She ran her fingers over the lantern, and for the first time, tiny voices called her name.

She knew what—rather, who—the lights in the lantern were now. Her aunts had made a lot of mistakes, but even after the reveal, they were still her guardians. Though their powers were limited, their magic would continue to guide her.

Hope fluttered in Sleeping Beauty’s heart. She was not alone.

* * *

Eventually they returned to the king and queen’s castle, somewhere she had never visited before in either dreams or reality. There, the townsfolk were exactly like her: eyes stitched up, bleeding and blind. She was the only one with a guide. But she accepted the responsibility of looking after the people and easing their pain. She had been gone for sixteen years... it was time to claim back the throne.

Sleeping Beauty's singing filled the gloomy atmosphere, serving as a calming lullaby. They would wake up soon.


End file.
